FORT BENTON — Amber Jenson’s call in life is to help others.
“EMS has been my passion since I started pretty much working,” Jenson said. She manages the Geraldine ambulance service as well as Memorial Ambulance in Fort Benton. Come November 11, that will change.
“We've had some recent board changes,” Jenson said, “And we've had some appointees for a couple of new board members. I would say probably over the last six months, at least.”
Jenson feels that the new board members are infringing on her role, making it harder for her to lead effectively.
“Basically my role has been done by a board instead of allowing me to be able to effectively lead,” Jenson said.
Jenson is not alone in her feelings. Since announcing her resignation on October 14, nine more people have resigned, leaving only a handful of people still with Memorial Ambulance.
“We still need people to take care of people, unfortunately,” Jenson said.
There was tension at a recent Fort Benton Memorial Ambulance meeting as the group planned out what to do after a slew of resignations.
At the meeting, the board discussed the recent resignations and are trying to focus on moving forward.
Board members Kevin Kittredge and Kim Pimperton declined an on-camera interview but gave a written statement which reads:
The mission of the Memorial Ambulance of Fort Benton is to deliver quality, efficient pre-hospital patient care; as well as to assess and meet the community needs for comprehensive emergency medical services.
We appreciate the excellent patient care work that Amber Hurt provided for us during her employment with us. We wish her the very best in her new future endeavors.
Although the details of emergency medical care for patients has changed dramatically with all of the new advancements in medicine, the basic needs of the community have not changed. In order to accomplish the Mission Statement of the Memorial Ambulance of Fort Benton, the Ambulance Board of Directors is initiating plans for moving forward.
It is important to remember that Emergency Medical Services is only one portion of a comprehensive Emergency Response System. We are all part of a team, that has always been in place in Chouteau County. The team consists of the ambulance service, hospital (including physicians, nurses and other staff), law enforcement (which includes 911 Dispatch), fire services, search & rescue, and the public. Our goal is to ensure the cohesiveness of the Emergency Response System, and it is the responsibility of the board to address any concerns within the system and the public.
With the ever-present major problem of volunteers to take the necessary training to staff the ambulances – this will be the first focus for the board. The Memorial Ambulance Board intends to actively pursue efforts to reinforce relationships and communications with all of the team members in order to continue to meet our Mission Statement.
The Memorial Ambulance said that people in Chouteau County will continue to be served.
They will be having more people step up in the interim until they can have a more permanent solution figured out.
